moringa health benefits: antioxidant & anti-inflammatory

MORINGA OLEIFERA IS PACKED WITH POTENT BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS

Antioxidants play an important role in preventing stress-related damage to cells.

Inflammation is a physiological response to protect the body against infections and restore tissue injury. However, long-term chronic inflammation may lead to the development of chronic inflammation-associated diseases and disorders such as diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, sepsis, colitis, and arthritis.

These studies demonstrate that Moringa oleifera is a powerful source of a wide range of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds:

Moringa Oleifera isrich in polyphenols which have strong antioxidant properties and can decrease oxidative damage in tissues by scavenging free radical. The methanol extract of M. oleifera leaves contains chlorogenic acid, rutin, quercetin glucoside, and kaempferol rhamnoglucoside. The Moringa genus has high antioxidant activity mainly due to its high content of bioactive polyphenols. The leaves of M. oleifera also exhibit both nootropic and neuroprotective effects, they have been shown to stimulate neuronal outgrowth and survival under harsh treatment conditions.

This review concludes that studies conducted on moringa's phytochemicals and cell walls, as well tests on animals, are concordant in their support for the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant as well as hypolipidaemic, anti-diabetic and anthelminthic properties of moringa oleifera.

Moringa oleifera significantly inhibited edema induced by xylen in a dose-dependent manner, compared to controls. These data suggested that the leaves of M. oleifera can inhibit the early phase of inflammation, and can play an important role in addressing chronic inflammation.

This study concludes that Moringa Oleifera leaves possess a strong therapeutic potential for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases due to potent antioxidant properties and its ability prevent clogged arteries and reduce lipid levels in the blood.

The aqueous extract of moringa leaf, fruit and seed was assessed to examine antioxidant potential and ability to inhibit the oxidative DNA damage. Analysis determined that these extracts significantly inhibit DNA damage, in particular the leaf extract, because of its higher total phenolics content, total flavonoids content, and ascorbic acid content.

This study explains that free radicals cause damage to cellular bio-molecules like nucleic acid, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, and consequently may be a contributing factor in oxidative stress and several diseases. Antioxidants interfere with the production of free radicals; moringa oleifera contains many potent antioxidants such as kaempferols, carotenoids, limonoids, tocopherols, ascorbates and polyphenols.

The study shows that rats who were administered moringa extracts showed improved physical performance.Their maximum swimming time increased, as well as their blood hemoglobin and muscle glycogen reserves. The extract also increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and significantly decreased oxidative stress. Furthermore, it decreased blood concentrations of lactate, triglycerides, and urea. The anti-fatigue properties ofmoringa stem from its ability to improve body energy stores and tissue antioxidant capacity and to reduce the tissue build-up of lactic acid.

The phytochemical analysis showed that the extract contained flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, tannins and saponins. The analgesic effects were comparable to that of indomethacin used at 10 mg/kg. In the anti-inflammatory test, the extract reduced the formation of oedema especially at a dose of 200 mg/kg. In the anti-oxidant test, the extract was found to possess a free radical-scavenging property and is concentration related.

Moringa in personal care

moringa oleifera & green beauty

Present-day research has yielded new and exciting uses for moringa oil in cosmetic and personal care formulations. The tactile, chemical, mechanical and physical properties of this oil and its derivatives have revealed promising results. The exceptional oxidative stability of moringa oil and its derivatives leads to cosmetic formulations that resist rancidity and, over time, remain as fresh and as stable as the day they were packaged.

The recognition that moringa oil has value in cosmetics has increased interest in cultivating it for seed-oil. Monounsaturated ω-9 oleic fatty acid account for more than 70% of the total fatty acids. The polyunsaturated ω-6 linoleic fatty acid content of the African cultivar was slightly, but significantly higher than that of PKM-1.

This study assesses variation in antioxidant, antimicrobial and phytochemical properties of thirteen Moringa oleifera cultivars obtained from different locations across the globe. Standard antioxidant methods including the DPPH scavenging, ferric reducing power (FRAP) and β-carotene-linoleic acid model were used to evaluate the activity. Variation in the antioxidant activity is observed with activity often five times higher than that of ascorbic acid (reference compound).This study also offers an understanding on variations between cultivars from different geographical locations and its important in the search for antioxidant supplementation and anti-ageing products.

The purpose of this study was to determine the types and levels of major phytochemicals (non-nutrients) and nutrients in the different tissues from vegetative and flowering Moringa oleifera L. an important multipurpose crop. Rhamnose and acetyl-rhamnose-substituted glucosinolates were found in all of the M. oleifera tissues with different profiles depending on the tissue. In addition the tissues of M. oleifera had a relatively complex flavonoid profile consisting of glucosides, rutinosides, malonylglucosides and traces of acetylglucosides of kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin. Fatty acid profiling of the different tissues showed that leaves were rich in palmitic (16:0) and linolenic (18:3) acid whereas seeds were predominated by oleic acid (18:1). Roots were rich in palmitic and oleic acid, whereas stems and twigs predominately contained palmitic acid. Potassium, magnesium and calcium were the predominant minerals in all of the tissues.

Investigations were carried out to evaluate the therapeutic properties of the seeds and leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam as herbal medicines. Ethanol extracts showed anti-fungal activities in vitro against dermatophytes such as Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Microsporum canis. GC–MS analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil from leaves showed a total of 44 compounds. Isolated extracts could be of use for the future development of anti-skin disease agents.

M. oleifera has antimicrobial activity against various pathogens, both gram-negative and gram-positive, Creams containing leaf extract of M. oleifera showed effectiveness in improving skin hydration, preventing the absorption of UV radiation. The leaf extract of M. oleifera may be used in topical formulations in the prevention and treatment of diseases mediated by oxidative stress and photo-aging, it helps in skin rejuvenation and displays significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. Healing effects may be due to its high protein content, zinc and antimicrobial components. The presence of flavonoids is reason to encourage researchers to evaluate the photoprotective potential of Moringa

The seeds of Moringa oleifera were collected, air-dried, pulverized, and subjected to cold extraction with methanol. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, terpenes, alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and cardiac glycosides but the absence of anthraquinones. Although signs of acute toxicity were observed at a dose of 4,000 mg kg−1 in the acute toxicity test. Administration of the seed extract caused significant significant (p<0.05) decrease in weight of experimental rats, at 1,600 mg kg−1. The study concludes that the extract of seeds of M. oleifera is safe both for medicinal and nutritional uses.